Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Mishka And The Urban Groove - Legalize Love (1998)

Here is another little known Canadian artist for your listening pleasure. And another artist whom I know virtually nothing about. I can tell you that lead singer, Mishka Meunier, is French Canadian and apparently still lives in Quebec. And the Urban Groove consisted of fellow Canadian musicians Andy Stewart, Dan Godro, Eric Brass, and Harry B.. Their sound was very diverse, with some tracks having a strong reggae vibe - like their only single, a remake of James Brown's "Try Me" - while some veer into folk, and others are very funky soul. Altogether it is a great earthy sound, with powerful, soulful vocals from Mishka. The whole album is reminiscent of the work of fellow Canadians The Parachute Club, IMO.  The album was released locally and independently and didn't get much attention.  It also didn't help that soon after the album's release, singer Heather Nova's brother released his own folk and reggae-inflected music under the name Mishka, which could only add to the confusion.  Should you dig this album and wish to connect with Mishka, she has her own Facebook page, and perhaps she can fill you in on the full story of Mishka And The Urban Groove, and what she's been up to since.

Video for Try Me

Download Legalize Love

1 Legal Love
2 Love War
3 Your Touch
4 Save The Children
5 Try Me
6 Could It Be
7 Happiness Runaway
8 Feel The Change
9 What If?
10 Too Young

3 comments:

  1. Totally new to me but interesting. Thanks for this share.

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  2. I wanna wish you a happy new year & new 'old' albums for me ;)

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  3. Legalize Love (1998) is one of my favorite music albums and I must say that female pop singers gave a great performance, just like male singers. Thanks for this great blog post as it refreshed my memories!

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